Harry Kane is hoping to hit a run of scoring form after breaking his duck in Qatar in the 3-0 victory over Senegal.

The Golden Boot winner from Russia 2018 failed to score during the group stage but opened his World Cup 2022 account in the last 16 to double England's lead shortly before the break.

Kane's goal moved him to 11 in a major tournament for the Three Lions, surpassing Gary Lineker in that regard, and the England captain hopes to extend his record.

"As a striker, scoring goals is what you do and its one of the best feelings you can have in football. I was waiting patiently to score," he said after the game.

"I feel good and hopefully this can start a good run for me personally as this can help the team as well.

"As you saw today, we had players scoring from different positions which is really important when you get in the later stages of the tournament.

"It was nice for me to score but the main thing was a really good team performance."

England are now braced for Saturday's challenge against defending champions France, who have lost just once in the knockout stages of the World Cup under Didier Deschamps – against eventual champions Germany in 2014.

Kane is under no illusion regarding the importance of the game but feels if you want to go all the way, you have to defeat the best.

"Saturday will be a difficult game. France are a great team, reigning world champions, so it will be a tough evening. We have a couple of days to recover before another important game.

"If you want to win the World Cup you have to play the best sides the world and France are definitely one of them."

Raheem Sterling missed England's World Cup last-16 match against Senegal after travelling home following a raid by armed intruders on his home, Stats Perform understands.

The Chelsea forward was absent from Gareth Southgate's squad for the 3-0 win over the Africa Cup of Nations champions on Sunday.

England officials put it down to "a family matter" before kick-off, and it remains to be seen whether Sterling travels back to Qatar in time to feature in the quarter-final against France next Saturday.

The BBC reported the break-in at Sterling's London area home occurred on Saturday night.

Manager Gareth Southgate said after England's victory: "Raheem is having to deal with a family situation. He's going back to England. We have to give him time to try to resolve that, or be there for his family. That’s the most important thing; we are going to give him that space.

"It didn't impact team selection. I spent a lot of time with Raheem this morning, so you have days where events happen and you have to deal with them. He's on his way home. We are obviously mindful of him being allowed space and respect his privacy, so we don't want to talk about it in too much detail.

"It's not ideal for the group ahead of the big game, but it pales into insignificance – individual is more important than group in these moments."

The scorer of England's opening goal, Jordan Henderson, told ITV: "I hope everything's okay with Raheem's family at home and I hope he goes back and can sort everything out. Hopefully he can then come back, but I suppose he'll have to assess when he gets there. All our thoughts and support is with him."

England defender Eric Dier was asked by Stats Perform about Sterling's absence, and said: "We all wish him and his family well. We hope everyone's okay.

"I just found out before the game. I don't know more than that, just wish him all the best."

Midfielder Declan Rice indicated the day had begun as any other, with Sterling in camp.

"I literally saw him at breakfast this morning and then the manager said he's had some difficulty with his family at home," Rice said. "We'll send him a message and wait to hear more."

Jude Bellingham can be the best midfielder in world football after starring for England in their win over Senegal, says England team-mate Phil Foden.

The teenager helped steer the Three Lions out of a cagey start to emerge as comfortable winners in Sunday's World Cup last-16 tie, nabbing an assist in a 3-0 victory.

It is the latest assured turn from the Borussia Dortmund youngster, who has firmly staked his place in the heart of Gareth Southgate's side at Qatar 2022, helping them to a joint-record goal haul at a major tournament with 12.

But Foden, who bagged England's other two assists in Al Khor, feels the sky can be the limit for the 19-year-old after helping to set up a quarter-final clash with France.

"I don't want to big him up too much because he's still young," Foden told ITV. "But he's one of the most gifted players I've ever seen.

"I don't see a weakness in his game. I think he's got everything. I'm sure he's going to be the best midfielder in the world."

Captain Harry Kane, who ended his own tournament goal drought to add England's second, concurred with Foden's assessment, but also offered wider praise for the winger and fellow goalscorer Bukayo Saka too.

"They're brilliant," he added. "All three of them today, having a big part in the goals, that's what we need.

"We've got a great mixture of youth and experience now. Over the years, it's not been easy for England. Credit to the boys, our mentality was top, and we took our chances when they came."

However, Bellingham himself was quick to pay tribute to one of the squad's most senior faces in Jordan Henderson, after the Liverpool man converted the former's low ball for England's opener when under pressure.

"I saw some of the rubbish written about him playing today," Bellingham said. "It's ridiculous. He's so underrated technically. He delivered again in a big game with a goal.

"The first 35 minutes were tough. They were hard to get through, but the goal was really well worked. When I get into those areas, I'm always confident the boys around me will take up brilliant positions."

Harry Kane surpassed Gary Lineker as England's all-time record goalscorer at major tournaments with his effort against Senegal.

The Tottenham striker fired home the second of his side's goals during Sunday's 3-0 win at Al Bayt Stadium, as the Three Lions set up a Qatar 2022 quarter-final tie with France.

It was Kane's first goal at this year's tournament and took his tally in World Cups to seven in 10 matches, having claimed the Golden Boot award in Russia four years ago.

The forward also scored four times for England in their run to the Euro 2020 final last year, making it 11 goals in major competitions – one more than Lineker managed.

The 29-year-old is now one goal short of equalling Wayne Rooney (53) as England's all-time record scorer, with Kane's 52 goals coming in 79 caps.

Thibaut Courtois says Belgium's current crop of players should not be considered the country's "golden generation" after their dire World Cup campaign in Qatar.

Belgium finished third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 despite a series of underwhelming displays, leading to hopes of a renewed World Cup bid this year.

However, the world's number-two ranked side suffered a humiliating group-stage exit after following up a 1-0 win over Canada with a defeat to Morocco and a goalless draw with Croatia. 

The Red Devils' current squad – which includes a series of household names including Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard – has often been described as Belgium's "golden generation", but Courtois says that depiction is inaccurate.

"It's a little shameful they called us the golden generation of Belgium when we didn't win anything," Courtois told ESPN.

"We are not a golden generation; we are a generation that had a lot of talent and great players in several European clubs.

"In Russia, in 2018, we showed that we were a Belgium that played good football. In this World Cup and in the Euro [2020] we were not ourselves."

Courtois, a veteran of three World Cup campaigns, will be 34 when the next edition of the tournament begins, but he has no intention of calling time on his international career before then.

"We'll see what will happen, who will stay, who will end their career. I want to play in this [next] World Cup, yes," Courtois said.

"We still have good players and others will arrive. When they finish their career in the national team, it will be in a good phase, not like this."

The expanded 2026 World Cup may not necessarily feature three-team groups amid criticism of the proposed reforms, says FIFA's chief of global football Arsene Wenger.

In January 2017, the FIFA Council voted to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup finals from 32 to 48, with the first tournament under the new format set to take place across the United States, Mexico and Canada in four years' time. 

FIFA initially said the new format will contain 16 groups of three teams, with the top two in each advancing to a 32-team knockout stage, but that proposal has attracted renewed criticism recently.

Several thrilling group-stage finales at the current tournament in Qatar, where Japan and South Korea advanced in dramatic circumstances and the possibility of Poland and Mexico being separated via their disciplinary records emerged, have provoked calls to abandon the plan.

The existing proposal would see an end to groups being decided by simultaneous fixtures on matchday three, but Wenger has revealed the format could yet be altered.

"This is not decided, but it will be 16 groups of three, 12 groups of four, or two sides of six groups of four, like you organise two 24-team [tournaments]," Wenger said on Sunday.

"I will not be able to decide that, it will be decided by the FIFA Council, and I think it will be done in the next year."

Earlier this week, it was also reported FIFA were considering the introduction of group-stage penalty shoot-outs under the new format, with winning teams being granted a bonus point. 

Sixteen cities were officially selected to host games at the 2026 World Cup earlier this year, with Vancouver, Toronto, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City joining 11 locations across the USA.

Kylian Mbappe matched a 64-year World Cup record set by Brazil great Pele after bagging a brace in France's 3-1 victory over Poland in Sunday's last-16 tie.

On the day team-mate Olivier Giroud passed Thierry Henry to become France's all-time top goalscorer, team-mate Mbappe continued to burnish his own legacy.

With his two goals – both excellent strikes delivered with poise through a strained Polish defence – Mbappe has further written his name into World Cup history at Qatar 2022.

He now has five goals in the knockout stages of the competition, when factoring in the three he netted for the tournament winners at Russia 2018.

At 23 years and 349 days, it makes him the youngest player to reach that number after Brazil legend Pele, who bagged as many during the Selecao's victorious Sweden 1958 campaign, aged 17 years and 249 days.

Mbappe now moves to nine goals in all World Cup fixtures, pulling him one clear of Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be in action with Portugal against Switzerland on Tuesday.

It also sees him match Lionel Messi, who nabbed his first-ever knockout goal at the competition during Argentina's 2-1 win over Australia on Saturday.

With just a four-goal gap to Just Fontaine's France competition record of 13, Mbappe could conceivably catch his compatriot during the rest of his stay in Qatar, though he remains seven off Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16.

Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden have been chosen to support Harry Kane in England's World Cup last 16 clash with Senegal.

It means Marcus Rashford, the scorer of two goals in England's 3-0 win against Wales in their final group game, has to settle for a place on the bench alongside Jack Grealish. Raheem Sterling was unavailable as he is dealing with a family matter.

Jordan Henderson retains his place in midfield alongside Declan Rice, with Jude Bellingham continuing in a more advanced role.

Kyle Walker starts at right-back ahead of Kieran Trippier at Al Bayt Stadium.

Idrissa Gueye misses out for Senegal due to suspension.

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou says Spain will force his side to raise their level after they reached the last 16 of the World Cup for just the second time.

The Atlas Lions reached the knockout rounds after an unbeaten Group F campaign in which they held 2018 finalists Croatia to a draw and shocked Belgium, before sealing top spot with victory over Canada.

Their reward is a tie with La Roja, themselves reeling from the surprise of qualifying second out of Group E after Japan snatched victory against them in their final game, in the process eliminating Germany.

While his team have already written their place in national sporting folklore, Bounou knows that something truly special is on the line when the pair meet in Al Rayyan on Tuesday.

"We've already made history by reaching the last 16, but we want more," he stated. "To eliminate Spain, that would create history in this World Cup, and in our country's footballing story.

"We want to make our people happy. We are thoroughly prepared. We have got better and better with each passing game, and I'm sure we'll be in good shape."

Amid a World Cup that has already delivered shock results, Morocco's victory over Belgium remains a major one – but Bounou, who plays his club career in LaLiga with Sevilla, knows Luis Enrique's side will be a different beast.

"Spain will force us to be at our best," he added. "It's a very competitive game, one which will come down to the finer details. We have to be prepared for that."

South Korea coach Paulo Bento hopes Neymar is fit to play his team in their World Cup last-16 clash with Brazil, even if he concedes it would better for them if he was absent.

The Taeguk Warriors caused something of a shock by reaching the first knockout round of the tournament at the expense of Uruguay, with South Korea scoring a dramatic winner against Portugal on matchday three.

Brazil await in the last 16 and there remains some doubt over the fitness of talisman Neymar, who injured his ankle in the Selecao's first match of the tournament.

Neymar's involvement will be determined in training on Sunday, and Bento hopes he is ultimately passed fit.

"It would be hypocritical if I said that it's better to play against Neymar than without him, but to be fair, I always prefer the best players to be on the field. If not, we hope it's not because of injury, that's for sure," he said.

"It will be up to the coach, Tite, to decide whether he's in the starting line-up if he's fit to play, and we'll design the best strategy to play against a great national team that is full of balance and adding more and more talented players."

Nevertheless, Bento clearly feels South Korea's chances of causing an upset have not been helped by FIFA.

The Portuguese coach vented his frustration at the governing body scheduling games just 72 hours apart, particularly given the emotional exhaustion from their turnaround against Portugal.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much time to train, because 72 hours is too little, I doubt any team can do that," he added.

"After physical tiredness, and the emotional fatigue, we let the players rest [on Saturday] and only trained this morning, and of course that's a burden for the team.

"We have an additional burden compared to Brazil because they changed their line-up in the last game.

"They did something we couldn't do in the last game and honestly speaking, I was watching the 2018 World Cup and after the group stage, I do not remember seeing games played after 72 hours. The spaces between games was longer.

"In my opinion it's not fair to play every 72 hours, it's something inhuman, it's something FIFA intends to create less conditions for those who already have less conditions, but we need to accept it if it's FIFA's decision.

"It's difficult to play very a great team such as Brazil, who in my opinion they are the favourites, and if we add this burden, our task will be very difficult."

But as irritated as Bento was by FIFA's decisions, he certainly is not worried about motivation.

"I'm a realist. I conveyed we have a tough task ahead of us, but we have to try," he said. "If they needed me to motivate them for a last-16 game at the World Cup, they'd be in a bad spot.

"What they showed already shows they are motivated. I get more motivation from them than they get from me."

Brazil head coach Tite recalled how he was "shaking" when he first met Pele, as he wished the three-time World Cup winner good health.

Pele was hospitalised on Tuesday, though his daughter said a day later there was "no surprise or emergency" pertaining to his condition, with Pele also describing it as a "monthly visit".

It was later reported, though not officially confirmed, that the 82-year-old had been moved to palliative care as he was no longer responding to chemotherapy treatment.

The hospital treating Brazil's record scorer described his condition as "stable", while Pele issued a statement to say he remained "strong, with a lot of hope".

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Selecao's World Cup round-of-16 tie against South Korea, Tite shared a memory of meeting Pele for the first time.

"He's probably the only person where I was shaking when I greeted him," he said. 

"Speaking from the bottom of my heart, it was a very emotional moment for me... I didn't even know what was going on... Someone said, 'go and hug Pele'.

"I stopped, started shaking, hands sweating, heartbeat racing. I said, 'wow, I'm going to have opportunity to greet Pele.' He is the person who represents the human aspect.

"Health, Pele, health. That's all I can give you. It's a difficult moment."

The Santos great underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his colon last year, and has been in and out of hospital since.

Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Vinicius Junior are among those to have sent messages of support from the World Cup in Qatar, while former Brazil international and Tite's assistant, Cesar Sampaio, also added his well-wishes.

Sampaio – who began his career at Santos, albeit several years after Pele had retired – recalled having the opportunity to play with him.

"I also had the blessing of meeting Pele," he said. "When I was at Santos, I had the chance to play with him, it was something even more than what Tite said, to be able to be with him on the pitch was so difficult because of what he represents.

"Regardless of your religion, we ask you please send him a prayer and positive vibes. He influenced my development as a man and a human being."

Virgil van Dijk said Manchester United are not "at the same level" as Real Madrid as he offered transfer advice to his in-form Netherlands team-mate Cody Gakpo.

PSV forward Gakpo scored in each of the Netherlands' three group-stage games and played alongside Van Dijk as the Dutch defeated the United States 3-1 to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

With nine goals in 14 Eredivisie games this season, Gakpo's stock has continued to rise in Qatar and rumours of a switch to United have exacerbated since the Red Devils terminated the contract of Cristiano Ronaldo.

LaLiga heavyweights Madrid have also been registered with an interest, while Liverpool are also reportedly monitoring the situation.

Van Dijk has no doubt Gakpo is ready to take the next step in his career but offered a cheeky dig at Liverpool's rivals when speaking to reporters after the USA game.

"Are Manchester United and Real Madrid on the same level? No disrespect, not at all," he said.

"I definitely think he has that next step in him. I definitely feel like it could happen, whether that is in the winter or the summer or next year, time will tell. 

"He is a great boy who works hard, very talented and definitely there is more in him. We are so pleased he is doing so well for us. Long may it continue."

Gakpo did little to quell rumours of a January move when speaking to De Telegraaf about his future last week.

"As it stands now, I will still be playing for PSV after the winter break," he said. "But, as I said before the start of the World Cup, we will see what will happen."

Wayne Rooney has backed Harry Kane to end his World Cup goalscoring drought and "come alive" in England's last-16 clash with Senegal.

Captain Kane has yet to find the net at the finals, though he has provided three assists for Gareth Southgate's side.

Kane won the golden boot at the 2018 World Cup with six goals and Rooney expects the pressure of the knockout stages to inspire a return to that kind of form.

"Harry Kane is made for these games," England's record goalscorer wrote in his column in The Times. 

"The games that are tighter, where the pressure is higher, where the football has to be more calculated – they are where Harry steps up.

"He hasn't scored in the tournament yet but I think there will be a shift in his mindset. He'll think, 'right, it's on me now to make sure we progress', and I think this is when he'll come alive.

"Gareth's other forwards are talented but no one has Harry's consistency. He is always calm and composed and he doesn't let misses bother him.

"Failing to score in the group stage won't affect him like at Euro 2016, where you could see frustration. I reckon this will be more like Euro 2020 when we had similar conversations about his lack of goals in the group stage – and then he started scoring."

Rooney anticipates changes to the starting XI from the 3-0 win over Wales, but would stick with both Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford in the front three.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Gareth brought back Sterling or Bukayo Saka, and maybe even both," the DC United manager added.

"I think he will leave either Foden or Marcus Rashford out and will be keen to use Sterling because he knows and trusts Raheem more than any of the other wide forwards.

"Me? I would stick with the side that beat Wales and keep Rashford and Foden. Foden gives you better control and helps you a lot more and you could see Rashford's confidence grow after his goals against the Welsh. Confidence is key with him."

Declan Rice is under no illusions as to the test Senegal will present England in the last 16 of the World Cup on Sunday.

Having won Group B, England will be widely expected to progress in their first meeting with Senegal and set up a quarter-final clash with either France or Poland.

But Senegal have proven their mettle in progressing as Group A runners-up behind the Netherlands despite missing Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane through injury.

And Rice, who will likely be at the heart of a key battle in the midfield at Al Khor, knows Senegal are not to be taken lightly.

"I think we've had a really good focus throughout the three group games – three really tough group games as well – but we’re onto a bigger test and we know Senegal are going to be really tough," Rice told a press conference.

"It's the knockout stages and we want to win. If you don't win, you go home, but that’s not what we're aiming for. We want to get to the end of the tournament. 

"There was big pressure around the Iran game for us to win and we did that. The USA was a tough game but then to beat Wales, with all the noise around that, we really dominated the game from start to finish.

"We're building well and we're in a nice position, and we're ready for whatever comes. 

"Senegal are a really strong, athletic team, with some really good individual players. They are a really good team. It's the first time we've played them since I've been in the set-up and we know it's going to be a tough test."

England, semi-finalists in 2018, are looking to reach the quarter-finals in consecutive World Cups for the first time since 2002 and 2006 under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

If Senegal do pull off a huge upset, it will mark the first time they have won three games at a single World Cup, having also won two en route to the last eight in 2002.
 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

England - Jude Bellingham

At 19 years and 153 days, Bellingham became the second-youngest player to reach 20 caps in England's 3-0 win over Wales and dominated the midfield in doing so.

He won possession seven times, tied with John Stones for the most of any player in the game, and had a passing accuracy of 90 per cent. However, Senegal's midfield has more depth and more talent than that of Wales, and this game promises to be a sterner test of his undoubted quality.

Senegal - Ismaila Sarr

The Lions of Teranga have had five different goalscorers at this World Cup, but Sarr may be the one of whom England will be the most wary.

He scored from the penalty spot against Ecuador and also had the most touches in their box (five) and played more passes into the final third than any other player (13), with eight of them accurate.

Firmly in the shop window having missed out on a move away from Championship side Watford before the season, this is a huge opportunity for Sarr to impress.

PREDICTION

England and Senegal may be meeting each other for the first time, but Stats Perform's AI supercomputer has little doubt about the way this one will go.

The Three Lions, who have never lost in their seven World Cup meetings with African opposition, are given a 63.5 per cent shot of prevailing here.

Senegal are considerable underdogs at 13.8 per cent, with a draw that would force extra-time or penalties a more realistic outcome at 22.7 per cent.

Denzel Dumfries' heroics proved vital as the Netherlands rode their luck while beating the United States 3-1 on Saturday to reach World Cup quarter-finals.

Louis van Gaal's key tactic appeared to revolve around letting the USA have control, but the Oranje required two goal-line clearances in the second half before picking their opponents off late on.

It looked straightforward for a while as Dumfries set up Memphis Depay and Daley Blind to give the Dutch lead a commanding lead at the break.

Tim Ream and Haji Wright were then both denied by last-ditch interventions in the second period, before the latter gave the USA a lifeline.

But Dumfries finished them off to cap a wonderful performance and seal progress.

A lightning start should have brought a third-minute opener for Christian Pulisic, but the USA talisman failed to beat Andries Noppert.

The Netherlands capitalised on that let-off seven minutes later.

A 20-pass sequence ended with Dumfries pulling a low cross back to the edge of the box and Depay swept first-time into the bottom-left corner.

The Oranje subsequently allowed the USA to dominate and then hit them with a sucker punch on the stroke of half-time, Dumfries pulling back to Blind in a near-exact replica of the opener.

Ream was denied by Cody Gakpo's goal-line clearance just after the break, before Depay nearly gifted the USA a goal, with Wright rounding Noppert only to see Dumfries save the day.

Wright did score fortuitously soon after, the ball looping up off his foot and going over Noppert.

But dreadful marking allowed Dumfries to turn in a Blind cross nine minutes from time, killing off the USA's comeback hopes.